Dave Lucas’ “About Suffering” is a poem that lives up to it’s name. Lucas writes about suffering, specifically about a cancer diagnosis, and relates it to the famous myth of Icarus and how he flew too close to the sun with wax wings.
He begins by stating how suffering is not like Icarus’ great fall from the sky. Suffering isn’t some big spectacle or event, for the most part, and most often happens in little, lonely ways. He goes on to talk about being diagnosed with lung cancer, using a simile about how they are like wings, tying back to Icarus and giving wonderful imagery for something so terrible. He goes on to point out how those that suffer aren’t like Icarus at all, as he is young, proud, and arrogant. In a way, the world must make him fall according to Lucas.
It is his father, Daedalus, who truly suffers in that story and who people can relate to. Daedalus has worked years on these wings to escape, thanklessly, and poured all his hope into them. He is the one who fears failure. Icarus is too bold and thus he lives fully, while Daedalus is too afraid, which causes him to suffer. He fears that he will never be enough, that all his work will bear no fruit, and his entire life has been for naught. That is why he’s relatable and why Icarus is not for us.